Letters: Feb. 2, 2004

"Howard Dean is hard to pigeonhole because he is not an ideologue and doesn't surround himself with ideologues." LAURENCE E. THOMSON Richmond, Vt.

The major contribution that Howard Dean has made to the presidential campaign is to provide voters with a clear and dramatic choice [Jan. 12]. In recent years, Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have run poll-based campaigns that all sounded the same. Dean is not George W. Bush; Dean has different ideas about how to keep America safe and prosperous. If he becomes the Democratic nominee, voters will have a real choice this November....